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RX antennas damaged? Heres how to fix them

Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 3:55 pm
by Lee
So i was out at the weekend with all my buddies ready for a great session of FPV.
Had a thought in the morning, that my antennas should be moved further away from the props.
Ah well I'll do it tomorrow :D
First flight, hit a bush, both antennas on my X4R RX ripped out by the props, and lost in the bushes. F*** !!!! :evil:
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So day was over before it started. 8 batteries charged, and nothing to fly.
Went home depressed, and wondering how long the slow boat from China will take to deliver new antennas.

Then I had a brain wave.
Wifi runs on 2.4. I have an old router lying around.
Lets take a look inside and see whats what.
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BINGO!!!!!

Two long lengths of 2.4Ghz antenna cable :D
So I stripped them out, and threw away the rest.
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There are three pads on the RX to attach the antenna.
Two for the outer sheath, and the centre signal wire.
I split the sheath into two, to make a cross.
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Then cut the outer cable to expose the correct length of inner cable for 2.4Ghz. Which is 31mm.
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Soldering was a pain. The connector had been ripped off. so i had to attach the signal wire by scratching the enamel off the trace to expose enough copper to solder to. :(
Crossed eyed but happy to get it fixed, and ready to fly again this week end.
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Re: RX antennas damaged? Heres how to fix them

Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 9:16 pm
by Graham Lawrie
Nice one Lee good tip:)

Re: RX antennas damaged? Heres how to fix them

Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 2:23 am
by Stambo
Just be careful Lee.
Every VTX I have had that ripped antennas completely off, suffered damage resulting in drastically reduced range after repairs.

Re: RX antennas damaged? Heres how to fix them

Posted: Sat May 06, 2017 6:19 am
by Lee
This isn't the VTX.
Its my FRsky X4R.
Flew yesterday behind stone walls and thick trees.
Signal held well, even though it only has one antenna, not two :)

Re: RX antennas damaged? Heres how to fix them

Posted: Sun May 07, 2017 8:14 pm
by Stambo
Doh!
Didn't look at the pictures or read the post very carefully. :D

Re: RX antennas damaged? Heres how to fix them

Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 10:46 am
by cml001
Nice!